Tube shaping machine



4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 12, 1959 INVENTOR.

HOWAPD A. K/NNEV BY ZJMM, 19M 1% A TTOPNE 5 5 July 23, 1963 H. A. KINNEY 3,098,461

TUBE SHAPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 12, 19 59 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. HOWAPD A. K/NA/EV (00 2M mizggw ATTOPNEVS July 23, 1963 H. A. KlNNEY 3,

TUBE SHAPING MACHINE Filed Aug. 12, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. HOWAPD A. KIN/V59 A rrqgwws United States Patent C 3,098,461 TUBE SHAPING MAUI-LINE Howard A. Kinney, Kalamazoo Township, Kalamazoo County, Mich, assignor to Crescent Machine 8: Nipple Company, Aliegan, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 833,188 Claims. (Qt. 113-52) This invention relates in general to a machine for shaping tubes and, more particularly, to a type thereof wherein a tube fabricated from a material of relatively high tensile strength, such as steel, can be formed into a variety of different shapes having circular, though not necessarily uniform, cross sections, wherein portions of the material in the tube can be moved with respect to the remainder of the tube during the shaping operation and wherein these operations can be carried out without the use of an internally placed mandrel.

It has long been recognized that certain types of hollow articles, having either thick or thin side walls, such as those having circular, even though varying, cross sections throughout their length, could be fabricated from tubing by spinning processes if a satisfactory machine were available for shaping the tubing into the final article, and many machines have been previously developed for this purpose. However, such previous machines have, insofar as I am aware, been of relatively limited use in that they were able to form articles of only a few specific shapes and in that they frequently required the use of a mandrel. Further, previous machines were usually limited to work at end of tube, such as to effect a mere closing. operation.

The more extensive shaping by spinning processes of either thick or thin wall articles from metal tubing, such as steel tubing, presents many serious problems. For example, for thick wall tubing it is extremely difficult to provide a specific external shape in the tube, even when it has been heated, and it is even more diflicult to shape the tube without creating undesirable thick and/or thin spots in the Walls of the finished article. For thin wall tubing, it is difficult to shape the article without collapsing the tube unless a mandrel is used, and this introduces further well-known limitations into the shapes which can be provided. In all cases where high internal pressures are required, the problem of providing a completely closed and safe construction is of paramount importance and a pressure-tight closure is often diificult to attain.

In addition, it has been found that even where existing machines have been used successfully to shape individual articles from hollow tubing, it has often been ditiicult, or sometimes practically impossible, to duplicate the first article during successive operations of the machine. That is, each article produced has often had to be custom made and there has been no assurance that succeeding articles produced on the same machine would have the same size, shape and/ or strength. In short, existing equipment has been incapable of use on a production basis, even where it might have been used on a one piece or custom type of operation.

Further, in shaping articles from tubular blanks, it has in the past often been difficult to control wall thickness, particularly where the material is stretched and tends to become undesirably thin. In some instances, attempts have been made to overcome this difiiculty by adding weld material at strategic points to the workpiece and in other instances the difiiculty has been avoided by completing the workpiece by a machine operation. Both of these, and other generally similar, expedients are expensive and accordingly not satisfactory. Hence, it is desirable to provide a machine which will permit sufficient control over wall thickness that the problem of stretching during the spinning operation can be met in relatively simple ways, such as by first Working extra metal into the 3,598,461 Patented July 23, 1963 ice 2 stretching zone during an initial stage of the spinning process or by a relatively simple machine operation carried out prior to the spinning steps.

Accordingly, the primary object of this invention has been the provision of a machine capable of producing by a spinning operation a varietyjof different shapes and contours in a substantially cylindrical tube, particularly of a type fabricated from a material having high tensile characteristics.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a tube shaping machine, as aforesaid, which can operate equally well on thick or on thin wall tubing and will do so in either case without the use of a mandrel.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a tube shaping machine, as aforesaid, which will be particularly adaptable to thin-walled tubing and wherein the working tool is guided by pressure of guiding means against a cam instead of by pressure of the working tool against a mandrel placed within the tube.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a tube shaping machine, as aforesaid, which can produce successive articles having substantially identical wall thicknesses, shapes and strength without intermediate adjustments in the machine or special operations of any kind upon the workpiece.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a tube shaping machine, as aforesaid, which can be adapted to power driven, completely automatic operation and which is adaptable in operation on tubes of a variety of sizes, wall thicknesses and materials.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a tube shaping machine, as aforesaid, which is extremely durable in construction, which is very flexible in its operation, which requires a minimum of maintenance, and which can develop without damage to itself or danger to the operator the high mechanical advantages which are essential to the satisfactory performance of a metal shaping machine.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a tube shaping machine, as aforesaid, which can be used to accurately and rapidly reduce, expand, finish and/ or machine any desired area on a tube, such work being accomplished either at room or higher temperatures.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the following specification and examining the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a tube shaping machine embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of FIGURE 1 taken along the line IIII in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragment of FIGURE 2 including the workpiece engaging parts and tools.

FIGURE 4 is a fragment of FIGURE 2 showing the workpiece engaging parts and tools in another position of operation.

FIGURE 5 is a fragment of FIGURE 4 showing the workpiece engaging parts in a further position of operation.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line VII--VII in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIVIII in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9 is a fragment of FIGURE 2 illustrating the workpiece engaging parts and an alternate work engaging tool.

FIGURE 10 is a broken sectional view taken along the line XX in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 11 is a broken sectional view taken along the line XIXI in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 6 of a modification.

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken on line XIII XIII of FIGURE 12.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower, left, right, front, rear and derivatives thereof will have reference to a tube shaping machine and parts thereof as appearing in FIGURE 1. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of said machine and parts thereof.

Gener'al Description The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above, have been met by providing a tube shaping machine comprising an elongated base member having an open center chuck, usually a collet, mounted upon one end of said base for rotation around a horizontal workpiece axis parallel with the lengthwise extent of said base. A first cross slide is supported upon said base adjacent to said chuck for movement transversely tothe rtational axis thereof. A second cross slide for supporting a tool carrying spindle is supported upon said base between the first cross slide and the other end of said base.

A swing member is supported upon the first cross slide for movement around a substantially vertical pivot axis which is movable with respect to, and simultaneous with, if desired, said cross slide toward and away from the rotational axis of the chuck. Actuating means are provided for effecting pivotal movement of the swing member around its pivot axis. A tool holder is supported upon the swing member for movement therewith. A cam is adjustably supported upon the cross slide for engagement by a cam follower on the tool holder. Thus, as the swing member is moved around its pivot axis, said tool holder can be simultaneously moved toward or away from said pivot axis as desired and as controlled by said cam.

Heating apparatus is supported and directed upon said machine near the affected area of the tube member for use if and as needed.

Cooling means are provided to protect from excessive heating of the swing member, particularly its bearings, and other essential parts as and if needed Detailed Construction The shaping machine 10 (FIGURES 1 and 2), which has been selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, includes an elongated base member 11, which may be generally similar to a lathe bed, and a control pedestal 12, which supports a chuck housing 13 and is secured to the left end of the base member 11. An open center chuck 14 is rotatably supported within the chuck housing preferably so that its rotational axis is directly above, and extends lengthwise of, the support rails 17 on the base member 11. The chuck 14 is driven through the belt drive 19 by a prime mover 18, which may be an electric motor. A positioning mechanism 22 (FIG- URE 1) is mounted upon the outer, leftward end of the chuck 14 for the purpose of bottoming the workpiece or tube 23 within the chuck 14.

The ways 24 of the left cross slide 26 (FIGURES 1 and 6) are mounted upon the rails 17 of the base member -11 adjacent to and below the chuck 14-. An adjustment plate 29 (FIGURE 6, l0 and 11) is slidably supported upon the cross slide 26 for movement lengthwise thereof by a screw 39 (FIGURE 6), which is threadedly engaged with said cross slide and rotatably engaged by the adjustment plate. A hydraulic cylinder 27 is secured to the adjustment plate 29 by the bracket 45 and its piston rod 28 is secured to the ways 24 for effecting simultaneous movement of the plate 29 and cross slide 26 with respect to the ways 24. The plate 29 (FIGURE 6) has an elongated slot 25 which is covered by the bar 48. A bolt 49 slidably extends through an opening in the bar 48 and the slot 25 in plate 29 for threaded engagement with d the slide 26, whereby the plate 29 is held with respect to said slide 26.

The ways 24 are arranged so that cross slide 26 preferably moves in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the lengthwise extent of the base member 11. A scale 32 on the cross slide 26 accurately indicates the movement of the adjustment plate 29 by the screw 36 with respect to the cross slide 26.

A swing member 31 (FIGURES 6 and 8) is mounted upon the upper surface of the cross slide 26 near its front end. The cross slide 26 has a substantially circular, axially vertical cavity 33 below the swing member 31 in which swing gear 34 is rotatably supported by means of the thrust bearing 35 and the radial bearing 40. A swing shaft 38 extends through the swing gear 34 and its lower end is rotatably engaged by the radial bearing 39 within the cross slide 26. The swing shaft 38 is secured to the swing gear 34 by any convenient means including the key 42. The cavity 33 is partially covered by a cap member 36 which is secured upon the cross slide 26 and which has a central opening 37 through which the radial bearing 40 extends.

The cross slide 26 (FIGURE 7) has an elongated rack opening 43 which extends lengthwise of the cross slide 26 and communicates with the gear cavity 33 adjacent to the rightward edge thereof. A rack 44 is slidably disposed within the rack opening 43 for engagement with the swing gear 34. The front end of the rack 44 is connected to the piston 47 of the hydraulic cylinder 46.

The swing member 31 (FIGURES 6 and 8) is supported upon the cap member 36 and is secured by means, such as the key 42, to the upper end of the swing shaft 38. Accordingly, rotation of the swing gear 34 by the rack 44 effects a corresponding rotation of the swing member 31 around the axis of the swing shaft 38.

An elongated, arcuate cam member 51 (FIGURE 5) has an elongated, arcuate cam slot 53 extending through an arc of approximately degrees. The cam 51 is pivotally secured by the bolt '52 upon the cross slide 26 for movement around a vertical axis which is in this embodiment located frontwardly and slightly leftwardly of the pivot axis of the swing member 31 The cam 51 has an elongated adjustment slot 54 near it rear end through which the adjustment bolt 56 is slidably received for threaded engagement with the cross slide 26. The adjustment slot 54 extends substantially along an arc of a circle having its center at the pivot bolt 52. The cam member 51 is located (FIGURE 6) below a plane defined by the lower surface of the swing member 31. The swing member 31 is preferably provided with one or more passageways 86 (FIGURE 8) which are connected by hoses 37 (FIGURE 7) to a source of coolant, such as water, In a substantially conventional manner.

The swing member 31 has integral ways 57 (FIGURE 7) which slidably engage and support the too] holder base 60 for movement toward and away from the vertical axis of the swing shaft 38. The swing member 31 (FIG- URES 6 and 7) has a vertical opening 59 spaced from the swing shaft 38 and elongated in a direction toward and away from said swing shaft. The tool holder base 6!) mounts a cam follower 62 which extends downwardly through the opening 59 in the swing member 31 and thence into the cam slot 53. A tool holder '58 is supported upon the base 69 for adjustment lengthwise of said base toward and away from the swing shaft 38. In this particular embodiment, a tool bar 63 is supported in the rear end of the tool holder 58.

A tool-holding turret, which is shown in broken lines at 64 in FIGURE 6, may be supported upon the adjustment plate 29 so that it can be moved toward and away from the axis of the chuck 14 by the screw 30. Thus, a tool (not shown) can be mounted upon the turret 64 and moved therewith into engagement with a pipe 23 (FIGURE 2) held by the chuck 14.

A heating instrument, such as the torch 63 (FIGURE 1), is supported upon the piston rod 69 of a hydraulic cylinder 72 for movement thereby into and out of a position adjacent to a tube 23 held by the chuck 14. The hydraulic cylinder 72 is secured to a bracket 73 which is mounted upon the control pedestal 12.

A tube stop 75 (FIGURE 1), which is engageable with the rightward end of a tube 23 in the chuck 14, is mounted upon a shaft 76 which is journalled within the bearing bracket 74 mounted upon the control pedestal 12.

The bearing bracket 74 (FIGURE 2) includes a pair of spaced, parallel flanges and 81 through which the shaft 76 extends, and a locking sleeve 77 is rotatably supported upon the shaft 76 between the flanges 80 and 81. Said sleeve 77 has a slot 78 (FIGURE 1) therethrough which has a short circumferential portion and a portion which is substantially axially disposed. The shaft 76 supports a radially extending pin 79 which is slidably disposed within the slot 78. When the pin 79 is in the cir cumferential portion of the slot 78 the shaft 76 is positively prevented from moving axially with respect to the bearing bracket 74. When the sleeve 77 is rotated slightly, the pin 79 moves into the axial portion of the slot 78, thereby permitting the shaft 76, hence the stop 75, to move away from the bracket 74.

An arm 85 (FIGURE 2) on the sleeve 77 is engaged by the piston 84 of the hydraulic cylinder 83 which is mounted upon the pedestal 12. Thus, rotation of the sleeve 77 can be effected by the hydraulic cylinder 83.

The stop 75 (FIGURE 1) may be rotatably supported upon the shaft 76 for movement into and out of the tube engaging position. A conventional, pressure sensitive switch 82 is mounted upon the stop 75 and is closed when a certain amount of pressure is applied to the stop 75 by the tube 23. The switch 82 is electrically connected to the chuck 14 by conductor 71 so that closure of switch 82 causes the chuck 14 to firmly grip the tube 23. The use of a limit switch for the purpose of operating an open center chuck in response to the positioning of a workpiece within the chuck is Well known in the prior art. The stop 75 is arranged to effect the proper positioning of the tube 23 with respect to the cross slide 26 when the first tube 23 is initially placed in the chuck 14, after which the positioning mechanism 22 is then properly adjusted.

Ways 90 (FIGURE 2) are supported upon, and length wise of, the rightward end of the base member 11 to support the intermediate slide 91 for movement lengthwise of the base member 11. The piston rod 92 of a hydraulic cylinder 93 is secured to the intermediate slide 91 and the cylinder 93 is secured to the base member 11 for effecting such movement. A cross slide 94 is slidably supported upon the intermediate slide 91 for movement in a substantially horizontal direction perpendicular to the lengthwise extent of the base member 11. A hydraulic cylinder 96 (FIGURE 2) is secured to a support plate 101, which is slidably supported upon the cross slide 94 for movement lengthwise thereof between the guides 102 and 103. A screw 97 is threadedly connected to the cross slide 94 and rotatably secured with respect to the plate 101 for effecting accurate adjustments of the plate 101 with respect to the cross slide 94. The piston, not shown, of the hydraulic cylinder 96 is secured to the intermediate slide 91 whereby movement of the cross slide 94 with respect to the intermediate slide 91 is effected. A scale 98 on the cross slide 94 permits accurate visual positioning of the plate 101 with respect to the cross slide 94.

Means including the belt 104 (FIGURE 2) are provided for locking the support plate 101 in a selected posi tion with respect to the cross slide 94, in substantially the same manner as set forth above with respect to the bolt 49 and plate 29 (FIGURE 6). A spindle housing 106 is mounted upon the support plate 101 and supports a spindle 107 for rotation around a substantially horizontal axis parallel with the lengthwise extent of the base member 11.

The front end of the support plate 101 (FIGURE 2) has an opening 108 therethrough which is elongated lengthwise of said plate 101. A cam follower support 109is disposed within the opening 108 for slidable movement lengthwise thereof, after which it may be then locked in place by means (not shown) of any convenient kind. A cam follower 112 (FIGURE 1) is secured in the cam follower support wall' 109 and extends downwardly therefrom.

A contour cam 113, which is engageable by the cam follower 112, is mounted upon a cam support 114 which is secured to the front side of the base member 11. The hydraulic cylinder 96 is pressurized from source 96a (FIG- URE 2) sufiiciently to hold the cam follower 112' snugly against the cam 113, whereby the plate 101, hence the spindle 107, will follow a path corresponding to the contour of the cam 113 when the hydraulic cylinder 93 moves the slide 91. A roller 116 is supported upon and rotatable with the spindle 107.

All of the hydraulic cylinders mentioned above are connected in a substantially conventional'manner through the control pedestal 12' to one or more sources of hydraulic fluid (not shown). The flow of such hydraulic fluid to said hydraulic cylinders may be automatically controlled by the control pedestal 12 or manually controlled by means such as the control levers 117 on said pedestal.

For example, the power cylinder 27 (FIGURE 6) may be connected by the conduits 27a and 27b to the pedestal 12 (FIGURE 1) for operation by the control lever 117a. The cylinder 93 (FIGURE 2.) may be connected by the conduits 93a and 93b to the pedestal 12 for control by the same lever 117a (FIGURE 1) in order to co-ordinate the operation of the cylinder 93 with the operation of the cylinder 27 while the pipe 23 is being formed. The cylinder 46 (FIGURE 2) may be connected by the conduits 46a and 46b to the pedestal 12 for operation by the lever 1171) (FIGURE 1). The cylinder 72 may be connected to the control pedestal 12 (FIGURE 1) by conduits 72a and 72b for operation by the lever 117a to co-ordinate the heating of the pipe 23 with the shaping thereof by the devices which are moved by the cylinders 27 and 93. The cylinder 83 (FIGURE 2) may be connected by conduits 83a and 83b to the control pedestal 12 for operation by the control'lever 117c (FIGURE 1).

Under some circumstances, it maybe easier to provide a certain shape in a tube 23 by a roller 120 (FIGURE 9) than by the bar 63 of FIGURES. Accordingly, the tool holder 58 of FIGURE 5 is replaced by a tool holder 121 (FIGURE 9) which is capable of rotatably supporting the roller 120. In all other respects the tool holder 121 may be substantially identical to the tool holder 53.

FIGURE 12, which is similar to a fragment of FIG- URE 6, illustrates a modified cam 125 which is mounted upon the cross slide 26a by means of the pivot bolt 52a and adjustment bolt 56a which extends through the slot 54a in the rear end of the cam 126. The cam 126 has a cam surface 127 (FIGURE 13) engageable by the cam follower 62a secured to the tool holder base 600. A hydraulic cylinder 128, which is connected'to a source 128a of hydraulic fluid (FIGURE 12), is mounted upon a tang 129 on the front end of the tool holder base 60a. The piston 131 slidably extends through an opening 132 in the tang 129 and is secured at its free end to the front end of the swing member 31a. Accordingly, the cam follower 62a is held snugly against the cam surface 127 by the hydraulic cylinder 128 as the hydraulic cylinder 46:: (FIGURE 13) rotates the swing member 31a (FIG- URE 12) in the manner set forth above with respect to the swing member 31 (FIGURE 7).

Operation For the purpose of illustration, it will be assumed that a spherically shaped enlargement is desired upon the end of the tube 23 (FIGURE 2). In such case, the mechanism 22 is moved leftwardly in the chuck 14 and a piece of tubing of the proper wall thickness and diameter is inserted into the right end of the chuck 14 until it engages said mechanism 22. The length of the workpiece is not critical because the workpiece can be moved rightwardly through the chuck by the positioning mechanism 22 until it engages the tube stop '75 (FIGURE 1). The pressure of the workpiece or tube 23 against the stop 75, which is developed by the positioning mechanism 22, operates the switch 82, whereby the chuck 14 is locked upon the tube 23. The locking action of the chuck may jam the tube 23 so tightly against the stop 75 that the stop can not be rotated away from the right end of the tube. However, by operating the hydraulic cylinder 83 (FIGURE 2), the sleeve 77 is rotated so that the pin 79 can move into the axial portion of the slot 78 in said sleeve. This permits the shaft 76 to move rightwardly, whereby the pressure between the tube 23 and stop 75 (FIGURE 1) is released so that the tube stop 75 can be rotated upwardly away from its position against the rightward end of the tube 23.

' The cross slide 26 (FIGURE 2) is adjusted with respect to the adjustment plate 29 by means of the screw 30 so that the axis of the swing shaft 38 will be in precisely the desired position with respect to the external surface of the tube 23 after the hydraulic cylinder 27 has been operated. In this particular embodiment, where a spherical shape is desired, the axis of the swing shaft 38 will intersect the rotational axis of the chuck 14 (FIGURE after the piston of the hydraulic cylinder 27 has been extended. The cam member 51 is also adjusted so that it will cause the bar 63 to swing through an arc of a circle coaxial with the swing shaft when the swing member 31 is pivoted by the rack 44.

The cross slide 94 (FIGURES 2 and 3) is properly adjusted by the screw 97 with respect to the intermediate slide 91, and the support plate 101 is adjusted with respect to the cross slide 94 by means of the bolt 104. The cam follower 112 is then adjusted with respect to the support plate 101, and a cam 113 of proper shape is placed upon the cam support 114. The prime mover 18 is energized which causes the chuck 14, hence the tube 23 therein, to rotate. The machine is now ready for a shaping operation.

Under some conditions, a shaping of the tube 23 may be performed at room temperature. However, if it is desirable to heat the tube 23 in order to facilitate the shaping operation, the hydraulic cylinder 27 is actuated so that the swing member 31 and its bearing structure are moved frontwardly as far as possible away' from the tube 23. At the same time, coolant will be caused to flow through the coolant passageways 86 (FIGURE 8) in order to protect the bearings 35, 39 and 40 in the swing member 31. Coolant may, if desired, be also caused to pass through similar passageways (not shown) in other parts of the machine near the heating zone. By appropriate operation of the hydraulic cylinder 93, the intermediate slide 91 is also moved as far away from the torch 68 as possible. The hydraulic cylinder 72 (FIGURE 1) is actuated whereby the torch 68 is moved downwardly adjacent to the region on the tube 23 Where the shaping will be performed thereon.

When the portion of the tube 23 extending rightwardly from the chuck 14 (FIGURE 1) has been properly heated, the hydraulic cylinder 93 is actuated to move the intermediate slide 91, with the spindle 107 and roller 116 thereon, toward the tube 23 and into the right end thereof. The cam 113, operating through the cross slide 94 and in opposition to the hydraulic cylinder 96, causes the roller 116 to move through a pattern which first flares the tube 23 (FIGURE 3) and thereafter produces the configuration in said tube appearing in FIGURE 4. As the tube 23 is being rotated by the chuck 14, the roller 116 will roll against the inner surface of the tube 23 and thereby provide a symmetrical shape having a circular cross section. The hydraulic cylinder 93 is now actuated whereby the intermediate slide 91 moves rightwardly, thereby withdrawing the roller 116 from within the partially formed tube 23 (FIGURE 4).

The hydraulic cylinder 27 is now actuated whereby the cross slide 26 is moved rearwardly until the bar 63 is just touching the peripheral surface of the enlarged portion 122 of said tube 23, as shown in broken lines at 63a in FIGURE 4. The hydraulic cylinder 46 (FIGURE 2) is now actuated whereby the rack 44 (FIGURE 7) operates through the gear 34 to rotate the swing member 31 around the axis of the swing shaft 38. Thus, the hydraulic cylinder 46 causes the swing member 31 to move from its solid line position in FIGURE 5 into its broken line position at 6311 in FIGURE 5, which completes the closure of the enlarged portion 122, as indicated in broken lines at 122a. The hydraulic cylinders 27 and 46 are then operated so that the swing member 31 and the tool bar 63 supported thereon are moved away from the workpiece or tube 23. The chuck 14 is then released and the workpiece is removed therefrom to complete the operation.

If all of the workpieces being used have exactly the same axial length, a new workpiece can be immediately placed in the chuck 14 and moved leftwardly therein until it is bottomed on the positioning mechanism 22 after which the chuck is locked on the workpiece. The operation of first flaring the tube 23 by means of the roller 116 and then closing the tube by means of the bar 63 can be repeated, as set forth above in detail, with respect to tube 23. However, if the workpieces are not precisely the same length or have unacceptable differences in length, then the positioning mechanism 22 is loosened and backed ofi leftwardly, as appearing in FIGURE 2, before the workpiece is inserted into the chuck 14. Ordinarily the workpiece is inserted through the right-ward end of the chuck so that it is unnecessary to completely remove the positioning mechanism. Thereafter, the tube stop is moved into position in front of the rightward end of the chuck 14 and the positioning mechanism 22 is operated to move the workpiece rightwardly until it engages the tube stop 75 and operates the switch 82 thereon, whereby the chuck 14 is again locked upon the workpiece 23. The positioning mechanism 22 is locked in position, the stop 75 is moved away and the shaping operation is performed on the workpiece in substantially the same manner set forth above in detail with respect to the first workpiece. When the operation is completed, the second workpiece will have exactly the same contour, shape, wall thickness and strength as the first workpiece, providing only that the wall thicknesses and strength of the two workpieces were the same before the shaping operation was performed.

Thus, additional workpieces can be shaped in substantially the same manner quickly, accurately, uniformly and as frequently as desired or required by repeating the abovementioned operations.

It will be apparent that the various cross slides, the adjustment plates, the cams 51 and 113 and other elements of the machine can be adjusted or changed to produce a great variety of different tube shapes and configurations. For example, the tube configuration shown in FIGURE 9 may be accomplished by using the tool holder 121 and the roller 120. Moreover, the rollers and bars on the swing member 31 and the spindle 197 may have a great variety of different shapes in order to effect the shaping operations which are desired.

It maybe desirable under some circumstances to drive the spindle 107 by an independent drive means (not shown) which is connected to the gear 123 on the rightward end of the spindle 107. It will be understood that by appropriate use of the various too-ls associated with the machine of the invention, it is not only possible to reshape the walls of the tube, but it is also possible to move part of the metal in the tube from one point to another in order to increase or reduce the wall thickness.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for shaping substantially cylindrical workpieces, comprising: an upright base member; an open center chuck secured to said base member for engaging and rotating said workpiece around a substantially horizontal, first axis; a cross slide supported upon said base member for movement in a direction perpendicular to said horizontal axis; a swing member supported upon said cross slide for movement with respect to said cross slide around a second axis substantially perpendicular to said first axis and said direction of movement, said second axis being movable with said cross slide into and out of a position intersecting said horizontal axis; a tool holder slidably supported upon said swing member for movement toward and away from said second axis; an elongated arcuate cam supported upon said cross slide independently of said swing member and means for adjusting said cam substantially radially of said second axis, said cam defining a pattern around said second axis; a cam follower on said tool holder engageable with said cam for controlling said movement of said tool holder with respect to said swing member; first actuating means for elfecting said movement of said cross slide with respect to said base member; and second actuating means for moving said swing member around said second axis.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said tool holder includes a roller rotatably supported upon said tool holder for movement with said tool holder from a position where its axis is parallel with said first axis to a position where the roller axis is perpendicular to said first axis.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said cam is an elongated member having an arcuate cam surface extending around a portion of the periphery of said swing member;

mounting means pivotally mounting one end of said cam member on said cross slide;

means defining a slot at the other end of said member,

said slot extending substantially along an arc of a circle having its center at said mounting means; and means extending through said slot for releasably se- 10 curing the other end of said member in fixed position on said cross slide.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said cam follower extends through an elongated opening in said swing member whereby said cam follower and thereby said tool holder may be moved with respect to said swing member.

5. The structure of claim 3, including:

a second cross slide mounted on said base member for movement in a direction perpendicular to said horizontal axis;

means for moving said second cross slide longitudinally along said base member;

a spindle supported on said second cross slide for rotation about a second axis parallel with said first axis;

a metal shaping tool mounted on said spindle;

means for normally maintaining said spindle in one position with respect to said base member;

a second cam mounted on said base member; cam follower means fixed with respect to said spindle for engaging said second cam in response to longitudinal movement of said spindle with respect to said base member and for thereby effecting transverse movement of said spindle with respect to said base member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of 1851 

1. A MACHINE FOR SHAPING SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL WORKPIECES, COMPRISING: AN UPRIGHT BASE MEMBER; AN OPEN CENTER CHUCK SECURED TO SAID BASE MEMBER FOR ENGAGING AND ROTATING SAID WORKPIECE AROUND A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL, FIRST AXIS; A CROSS SLIDE SUPPORTED UPON SAID BASE MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULR TO SAID HORIZONTAL AXIS; A SWING MEMBER SUPPORTED UPON SAID CROSS SLIDE FOR MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO SAID CROSS SLIDE AROUND A SECOND AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FIRST AXIS AND SAID DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT, SAID SECOND AXIS BEING MOVABLE WITH SAID CROSS SLIDE INTO AND OUT OF A POSITION INTERSECTING SAID HORIZONTAL AXIS; A TOOL HOLDER SLIDABLY SUPPORTED UPON SAID SWING MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SECOND AXIS; AN ELONGATED ARCUATE CAM SUPPORTED UPON SAID CROSS SLIDE INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID SWING MEMBER AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING SAID CAM SUBSTANTIALLY RADIALLY OF SAID SECOND AXIS, SAID CAM DEFINING A PATTERN AROUND SAID SECOND AXIS; A CAM FOLLOWER ON SAID TOOL HOLDER ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID CAM FOR CONTROLLING SAID MOVEMENT OF SAID TOOL HOLDER WITH RESPECT TO SAID SWING MEMBER; FIRST ACTUATING MEANS FOR EFFECTING SAID MOVEMENT OF SAID CROSS SLIDE WITH RESPECT T SAID BASE MEMBER; AND SECOND ACTUATING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID SWING MEMBER AROUND SAID SECOND AXIS. 